I completed the IB from WIS back in 2008. It was a rough couple of years, owing both to a personal setback and the tough and demanding nature of the IB programme. My predicted grades were much higher than my actual result and, safe to say, I was sorely disappointed.
However, after completing the IB, I decided to pursue my higher education in my home country, India, where I’d barely spent any time and had never truly experienced living there. I enrolled in Delhi University, and went on to do my Master's in English language and literature. Post my Master's, I also completed my Bachelor's in Education. I spent 6 years in University, which I still consider my best years, and part of the credit goes to the IB for being so rigorous that all the assignments and hectic schedule of Uni did not phase me in the least. Moreover, it just seemed like an extension of IB. While pursuing the IB, we were always told how it really prepares you for college, but I realised this only after stepping into college.
I have always been a firm believer in actively working for something wherein I can make a difference to the community at large. Moreover, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity of receiving exemplary education from around the world, especially during what I consider my most formative years, and spending them in WIS. WIS and the IB allowed me to move beyond just academics and develop my personality as a whole, which at that time I did not realise, however I am reminded of it every step of the way these days. The extended essay, thinking beyond the obvious comfort zones because of TOK, all the CAS hours; everything contributed to building a strong foundation for me personally. The perseverance, resilience, critical and out-of-the box thinking were all a by-product of the hours put in by all my teachers at WIS, and I shall truly be grateful to them. So despite the disappointment of my final grades, I still learnt a lot!
Thus, I’ve felt a compelling need to further the cause of education in my own country as well and I truly believe that education is where I feel my contribution could be of most value. It also provides me with an opportunity to use the knowledge I have gained so far and to implement it in a creative manner while also providing the space to be able to grow exponentially as a working professional and on a personal level both and immerse further into the education domain.
This need and want to be involved in the education field in whatever manner has led me to be involved in multiple ways within this area. From teaching to developing content for children who are learning English as a second language to being heavily involved in the children’s book publishing industry and publishing books in local Indian languages, authoring my own children’s book in Hindi (the last language I ever thought I’d write in!) and to now being involved in developing meaningful assessments for teachers to use in schools to help understand where the learning gap of their students lie. It’s been an adventure so far and going from inhabiting the classroom in different capacities, to being at the backend of a software to help young children better their learning outcome, to publishing books; all of it has been an eye-opening and humbling experience.
Ushashi Lahiri